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BACKGROUND: Electronic health records are a valuable source of patient information that must be properly deidentified before being shared with researchers. This process requires expertise and time. In addition, synthetic data have considerably reduced the restrictions on the use and sharing of real data, allowing researchers to access it more rapidly with far fewer privacy constraints. Therefore, there has been a growing interest in establishing a method to generate synthetic data that protects patients' privacy while properly reflecting the data...

BACKGROUND: A low socioeconomic status is associated with a vulnerable health status (VHS) through the accumulation of health-related risk factors, such as poor lifestyle behaviors (eg, inadequate nutrition, chronic stress, and impaired health literacy). For pregnant women, a VHS translates into a high incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes and therefore pregnancy-related inequity. We hypothesize that stimulating adequate pregnancy preparation, targeting lifestyle behaviors and preconception care (PCC) uptake, can reduce these inequities and improve the pregnancy outcomes of women with a VHS...

BACKGROUND: Nursing-sensitive events (NSEs) are common, accounting for up to 77% of adverse events in hospitalized patients (eg, fall-related harm, pressure ulcers, and health care-associated infections). NSEs lead to adverse patient outcomes and impose an economic burden on hospitals due to increased medical costs through a prolonged hospital stay and additional medical procedures. To reduce NSEs and ensure high-quality nursing care, appropriate nurse staffing levels are needed. Although the link between nurse staffing and NSEs has been described in many studies, appropriate nurse staffing levels are lacking...

Race-conscious research identifies health disparities with 1) rigorous and responsible data collection, 2) intentionality and considered analyses, and 3) interpretation of results that advance health equity. Individual registries must overcome specific challenges to promote race-conscious research, and this paper describes ways to achieve this with a focus on the international Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) registry. This article reviews ELSO registry publications that studied race with outcomes to consider whether research outputs align with race-conscious concepts and describe the direction of associations reported...

Differentiated vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (d-VIN) is an HPV-independent precursor to vulvar squamous cell carcinoma. The histology of d-VIN lesions is difficult to differentiate from that of non-neoplastic epithelial disorders, especially lichen sclerosus (LS). The authors present a case of LS, where relying on histopathology alone could have led to misdiagnosis. The patient was a 17-year-old female patient with clinical features of vulvar dermatitis and LS for 2 years. She was counseled to apply clobetasol 0...

PURPOSE: To undertake the first ultrastructural characterization of human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) differentiation from fetal development to adolescence. METHODS: Ten fetal eyes and three eyes aged six, nine, and 17 years were examined in the temporal retina adjacent to the optic nerve head by transmission electron microscopy. The area, number, and distribution of RPE organelles were quantified and interpreted within the context of adjacent photoreceptors, Bruch's membrane, and choriocapillaris maturation...

PURPOSE: The lamina cribrosa (LC) depends on the sclera for support. The support must be provided through the LC insertions. Although a continuous insertion over the whole LC periphery is often assumed, LC insertions are actually discrete locations where LC collagenous beams meet the sclera. We hypothesized that LC insertions vary in number, size, and shape by quadrant and depth. METHODS: Coronal cryosections through the full LCs from six healthy monkey eyes were imaged using instant polarized light microscopy...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Laser acupuncture (LA) demonstrates promising results in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders. However, its effects on temporomandibular disorder (TMD) are not yet fully understood. Thus, the aim of this systematic review and network meta-analysis was to assess the effectiveness of LA on pain intensity and maximum mouth opening range (MMO) related to TMD. A search was carried out in 11 electronic databases and references of included studies to locate randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that evaluated LA as a primary treatment for TMD...

The energy crisis triggers the use of energy sources that are renewable, such as biomass made from lignocellulosic materials, to produce various chemical compounds for food ingredients and biofuel. The efficient conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into products with added value involves the activity of microorganisms, such as yeasts. For the conversion, microorganisms must be able to use various sugars in lignocellulosic biomass, including pentose sugars, especially xylose. This study aims to isolate xylose-utilizing yeasts and analyze their fermentation activity to produce xylitol and ethanol, as well as their ability to grow in liquid hydrolysate produced from pretreated lignocellulosic biomass...

Spirulina platensis biopigments have been documented as a potential source of nutritional, physiological, and pharmacological purposes due to the presence of bioactive pigments, total phenolic content (TPC) and the consequent antioxidant activity that these compounds present. Bioextracts market has increased in the last decades and is a key option for replacing fossil-derived products and promote the transition for a bio-based economy. To take advantage of these compounds more effectively, optimized extraction processes must be researched and used in biomass sources...

The first-cured tobacco contains macromolecular substances with negative impacts on tobacco products quality, and must be aged and fermented to mitigate their effects on the tobacco products quality. However, the natural fermentation takes a longer cycle with large coverage area and low economic efficiency. Microbial fermentation is a method to improve tobacco quality. The change of chemical composition of tobacco during the fermentation is often correlated with shapes of tobacco. This study aimed to investigate the effects of tobacco microorganisms on the quality of different shapes of tobacco...

Vestibular schwannomas (VS) are often associated with debilitating hearing loss. Therefore, preservation and rehabilitation of hearing have become major therapeutic goals of VS management. Recently, cochlear implantation (CI) has been established as an effective treatment option for VS-associated hearing loss. Nevertheless, the integrity and proper function of the cochlear nerve must be evaluated before conducting CI to ensure optimal CI outcomes. Various methods to determine cochlear nerve integrity and functionality have emerged in the last few years...

In specialized plant-pollinator associations, partners may exhibit adaptive traits, which favor the maintenance of the interaction. The association between Calibrachoa elegans (Solanaceae) and its oligolectic bee pollinator, Hexantheda missionica (Colletidae), is mutualistic and forms a narrowly specialized pollination system. Flowers of C. elegans are pollinated exclusively by this bee species, and the bees restrict their pollen resources to this plant species. The pollen presentation schedules of C. elegans were evaluated at the population level to test the hypothesis that H...

PURPOSE: To examine the distortion of the linear quadratic (LQ) model of in vitro cytogenetic dose response over an extended range of γ-ray doses by analyzing the available literature data, and to establish the dose ranges, in which the LQ dose response curve (DRC) can be most accurately fitted for biological dosimetry. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data on yields of dicentrics (Dic) or dicentrics plus centric rings (Dic + CR) induced in vitro in human lymphocytes by acute γ-rays were extracted from 108 open sources...

The functioning of groups and societies requires that individuals cooperate on public goods such as healthcare and state defense. More often than not, individuals face multiple public goods and must choose on which to cooperate, if at all. Such decisions can be difficult when public goods are attractive on one dimension (e.g., being "efficient" in providing comparatively high returns) and unattractive on another (e.g., creating inequality by providing some group members greater returns than others). We examined how people manage such decision conflicts in five preregistered experiments (N = 900) that confronted participants with two public goods that varied in efficiency and (in)equality of returns...

OBJECTIVE: To discuss current evidence on tapering antipsychotic drugs in view of changing vistas of psychosis, suggesting a provisional framework for safely tapering antipsychotic drugs to an optimal low dose, in collaboration with patients and their relatives, to promote functional recovery while preventing relapse. METHODS: Paradigm shifts during recent years regarding the nature of psychotic disorders and the role of the dopamine system are discussed, including the positive effects of dopamine blockade in acute psychosis and the limitations and drawbacks of dopamine blockade regarding negative and cognitive symptoms after remission of positive symptoms...

OBJECTIVE: In this retrospective cross-sectional real-world evidence study from the Danish Headache Center (DHC), a national tertiary headache center in Denmark, we sought to identify potential pharmacological agents for the treatment of new daily persistent headache (NDPH). BACKGROUND: NDPH is an enigmatic headache disorder with abrupt onset and chronic duration for which evidence-based treatments are lacking. NDPH is a diagnosis of exclusion, for which secondary headaches must be ruled out and the etiology remains idiopathic...

BACKGROUND: The most frequently ordered laboratory test worldwide is the complete blood count (CBC). CONTENT: In this primer, the red blood cell test components of the CBC are introduced, followed by a discussion of the laboratory evaluation of anemia and polycythemia. SUMMARY: As clinical chemists are increasingly tasked to direct laboratories outside of the traditional clinical chemistry sections such as hematology, expertise must be developed...

Regulatory agencies must balance patient demands to access new treatments for fatal diseases with limited treatment options while ensuring drug safety and efficacy. However, questionable U.S. regulatory actions resulted in the early approval of AMX0035 to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by reconvening advisory commissions to obtain positive decisions and designating the drug as a new molecular entity. Data from one randomized clinical trial suggests minimal delays in disease progression and longer survivability, but debate remains about the lack of confirmatory evidence of effectiveness owing to study limitations...

BACKGROUND: To ensure effective patient engagement, patients' efforts, partnerships with healthcare professionals, and the organisation's role in providing safe healthcare settings must be emphasised. Perception gaps regarding patient engagement between the public and healthcare professionals could prevent healthy partnerships from forming and hinder patient engagement activities. This study examined healthcare professionals' perception of patient engagement and compared the findings with that determined for the public in a previous study...